SANDSTORMS

003. The Bootleg Space Witches.

CHAPITRE III:
THE BOOTLEG SPACE WITCHES.

"Thus spoke St. Alia-of-the-Knife: "The Reverend Mother must combine the seductive wiles of a courtesan with the untouchable majesty of a virgin goddess, holding these attributes in tension so long as the powers of her youth endure. For when youth and beauty have gone, she will find that the place-between, once occupied by tension, has become a well-spring of cunning and resourcefulness."

— from 'Muad'Dib, Family Commentaries' by the Princess Irulan

"You made great progress Madhavi."

The steam of the sapho juice gently caressed the young Idaho's cold cheeks as she smiled at Thufir Hawat's words. It has been quite some time since she started improving her Mentat's abilities with the grizzled elderly man, and it has been way more dutiful activity than sparring with her father or Gurney. He would make her read insane amounts of information in such a short time that she wouldn't even be able to tell what she was reading at the moment. It was frustrating at first, until she started blurting out data she passively came across.

The Mentat Master of Assassins bustled around his desk as she brought again the cup to her mouth, running her tongue over her lips as she knew they'll soon be tinged of red.

"I can see the cogs in your mind working at full speed." the man called out, startling her. "You seem distracted lately."

Madhavi sighed before setting aside the history book that rested on her lap, cornered. Though he kept going through some documents, his sentence definitely sounded like a question.

Taking another sip of the drink, the young girl slightly frowned as she stared blankly at the floor before looking up at Thufir whose gaze already rested on her.

"Can I trust you?" she asked. It was less a question that sought to question the old man's discretion than whether it was wise to share vain speculations. But she knew they weren't just assumptions. Now that Madhavi was able to think with a cool head, there were plenty of elements that disrupted the verisimilitude of what she had been told and what she held to be true.

Thufir watched her for a moment before glancing toward the door, a brief question escaping his lips in an almost imperceptible voice. "Who?"

Who didn't you trust?

Madhavi could say the whole world, but only one name kept hammering her thoughts.

"Lady Jessica."

No surprise passed over the Mentat's face as he simply nodded. The young Idaho looked at him intently, his silence making her wonder if she'd made the right choice.

"Because she's Bene Gesserit." he told her simply as he sat down opposite her, looking albeit somber.

Thufir's words hung in the air like a heavy mist, enveloping Madhavi in a shroud of uncertainty. Silent, the latter simply nodded.

"But that's not all, is it?"

"I've been having dreams. Dreams of what happened this night I left Arrakis," she confided, the weight of her memories evident in her voice. "My mother was a Sayyadina, raised in the Bene Gesserit ways, learning directly from Helen-"

Frowning, Thufir interjected, "Helen?"

"The leader of the bootleg space witches sect, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam."